Visual inspection method and visual inspection apparatus

ABSTRACT

In a visual inspection method and apparatus, a picture processing unit converts an original picture, obtained by taking a photograph of a BGA illuminated by a ring illuminator from above, by using a camera, and labels a binary picture obtained by this binary conversion. Then, it forms a circumscribing rectangle circumscribing an outer circumference of a labeling picture obtained by the labeling, and inverts a labeling picture within the formed rectangle, and removes a portion of a region formed by the outer circumference and the circumscribing rectangle in a picture obtained by the inversion, and then generates an inspection picture by adding a picture obtained by the removal to the labeling picture, and accordingly judges a pass or rejection of the inspection target sample based on the generated inspection picture. Thus, the inspection can be carried out at a high accuracy irrespectively of a low cost.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 11/206,163, filedon Aug. 18, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a visual inspection method of and avisual inspection apparatus for performing a visual inspection on aninspection target sample by using an imaging process. More particularly,the present invention relates to a technique for minutely inspecting ashape of a protrusion of a BGA (Ball Grid Array).

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a visual inspection apparatus and a visual inspectionmethod have been known for taking a photograph of an integrated circuit(IC) having a package of a BGA type, and then inspecting an appearanceof the integrated circuit by using a picture obtained by this photographoperation.

As such a visual inspection apparatus, for example, Japanese Laid OpenPatent Application (JP-A-Heisei 9-311014) discloses “Apparatus forInspecting Protrusion of Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Apparatus”.This apparatus for inspecting a protrusion compares a rough coordinateof a protrusion targeted for an inspection with a coordinate at whichthe protrusion should be originally existed. As this comparison result,if it is so judged that a position of the protrusion is largely deviatedfrom a position defined by an inspection standard, a position deviationerror signal is outputted. Then, the inspection of the protrusion isstopped, and the inspection of a next protrusion is executed. On theother hand, if it is judged that the protrusion is not largely deviatedfrom the position defined by the inspection standard, a high accuratejudgment of the position is requested.

In response to this request of the high accurate judgment of theposition, a sub-pixel protrusion coordinate is compared with thecoordinate at which the protrusion should be originally existed. Then,it is judged that a positional deviation error is occurred if thecomparison result is not within a preset allowable range of a positionaldeviation. The above-mentioned process enables a positional deviation ofa solder protrusion to be quickly inspected at a high accuracy.

Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 8-203972) discloses“Protrusion Inspecting Apparatus”. In this protrusion inspectingapparatus, an inspection target surface is illuminated from a horizontaldirection or an obliquely upward direction close to a horizontaldirection, and a photograph of the inspection target surface is taken byusing a camera placed above the inspection target surface. Then, abinary conversion process is performed on shade picture data obtainedfrom the photograph operation, and a labeling process is performed onthe binary converted shade picture data. As for a judgment of a pass ora rejection, in a first method, the number of labels having a region ofa normal size is compared with the predetermined number of protrusions,and it is judged as the pass if they coincide with each other.

In a second method, a central coordinate of a label corresponding to aprotrusion detected by the inspection in the last time is used as astart point. Then, a label of a next protrusion having a centralcoordinate at a coordinate separated by a predetermined distance fromthis start point is sequentially retrieved, and it is judged as the passif labels corresponding to all protrusions are retrieved. Thus, it ispossible to detect the defects such as a breaking and a size error of aprotrusion formed by a solder ball on a BGA board, a bump on asemiconductor apparatus and the like.

As another related art, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A2000-65543) discloses “Bump Illuminating Method and Apparatus, BumpPhotographing Method and Apparatus, Picture Processing Method andApparatus, Bump Inspecting Method and Apparatus, And Information StorageMedium”. In this technique, a solder bump is illuminated from allcircumference directions, and a photograph of the solder bump is takenwhile a light amount at a center is reduced. The quality of a coatingstate of reinforcement resin on the solder bump is automaticallyinspected by extracting an object from the picture data obtained by thephotograph operation, and then confirming an area and an aspect ratio.Thus, it is possible to easily inspect the quality of the sphericalsolder bump on which lower half the reinforcement resin is coated afterthe solder bump is mounted on a surface of a circuit board.

As still another related art, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application(JP-A 2000-121338) discloses “Apparatus for Inspecting Electronic Part”.In this apparatus for inspecting the electronic part, a cylindricalilluminating unit is placed above a lens of a camera. Two ring-shapedlight source rooms, each of which is constituted by three interiorlyprojected flanges, are formed in upper and lower two stages, in an upperopening portion of the illuminating unit. A light source composed of aplurality of LEDs is placed at each of their tips so that a ring-shapedilluminator is formed. A part retainer, such as a work head and thelike, for a part loading apparatus, which is located close to the upperopening portion, retains a BGA electronic part at a tip of an adsorptionnozzle, and waits for the photograph operation. The photograph of a bumphaving a normal shape taken by the camera is obtained as a ring-shapedoptical picture having a uniform ring width and being continued in adark background. The pass or rejection is judged by measuring a diameterof the optical picture and the width of the ring from an angle at whichthe optical image is divided into at least eight portions and thencomparing with a preset data. According to this apparatus for inspectingthe electronic part, it is possible to judge the pass or rejection ofthe bump of the BGA electronic part surely and quickly.

However, in each of the techniques disclosed in Japanese Laid OpenPatent Application (JP-A-Heisei 9-311014) and Japanese Laid Open PatentApplication (JP-A-Heisei 8-203972), the shade picture data captured byusing the camera is converted into the binary numeral in a pixel unit.Then, the pass or rejection of the protrusion is judged based on thebinary picture data obtained by the above conversion. Thus, theinspection accuracy depends on whether or not there are a large numberof pixels in the binary picture data. Hence, there may be a case that avisual inspection apparatus using a cheap element for taking aphotograph can not detect the shape defect. This results in a problemthat the inspection accuracy is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a visualinspection method and a visual inspection apparatus that can carry out avisual inspection at a high accuracy irrespectively of a low cost.

Means for achieving the object will be described below using referencenumerals and symbols used in “Embodiments of the invention”. Thesereference numerals and symbols are added so that relation between thedescription of “Scope of the Patent to be Claimed” and the descriptionof “Embodiments of the invention” is made clear. However, it is neverpermitted to use the reference numerals and symbols for theinterpretation of technical scopes of the inventions described in “Scopeof the Patent to be Claimed” and the description of “Embodiments of theinvention”.

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionmethod according to a first aspect of the present invention is designedso as to take a photograph of an illuminated inspection target samplefrom above to generate an original picture, convert the original pictureobtained by the taking into a binary picture, label the binary pictureobtained by the converting to generate a labeling picture, form acircumscribing rectangle circumscribing an outer circumference of thelabeling picture obtained by the labeling, invert the labeling picturecircumscribed by the circumscribing rectangle formed by the forming togenerate a inversion picture, remove a picture in a region surrounded bythe outer circumference of the labeling picture and the circumscribingrectangle from the inversion picture obtained by the inverting togenerate a removal picture, add the removal picture obtained by theremoving to the labeling picture to generate an inspection picture andjudge a pass or rejection of the inspection target sample based on theinspection picture obtained by the adding.

The visual inspection method according to the first aspect of thepresent invention is suitable for the judgment with regard to the passor rejection of the inspection target sample, based on the binarypicture having a hollow portion such as donut shape (a portion of a holeof a donut) obtained by, for example, taking a photograph of a sphericalinspection target sample and converting into a binary numeral. It shouldbe noted that, in this specification, the hollow portion implies theregion of the existence of pixels having a value “0” surrounded withpixels having a value “1”, and the portion of the hole of the donutshape corresponds to the hollow portion. The size of the hollow portionof the binary picture as mentioned above is typically is changeddepending on the shape of the inspection target sample. Hence, it hasthe influence on inspection accuracy.

However, in the visual inspection method according to the first aspectof the present invention, the inspection picture where the same value asthe binary numeral of the outer circumference of the binary picture isembedded in the hollow portion is used to judge the pass or rejection ofthe inspection target sample. Thus, the inspection independent of thesize of the hollow portion can be done to thereby improve the inspectionaccuracy of the inspection target sample. It should be noted that theapplication of the visual inspection method according to the firstaspect of the present invention is not limited to the case in which thebinary picture of the inspection target sample is donut-shaped.Naturally, it can be applied to various binary pictures having thehollow portion.

In the visual inspection method according to the first aspect of thepresent invention, the judging step may perform judgement based on atleast one of an area of the inspection picture, a diameter of theinspection picture and a circulation degree defined by a ratio of thearea to another area calculated by a predetermined equation.

Also, in the visual inspection method according to the first aspect ofthe present invention may further comprises step of generating a newinspection picture by converting pixels around a plurality of pixelsforming an outer circumference of the inspection picture intosub-pixels, and wherein the judging is performed based on the newinspection picture obtained by the generating. It should be noted that,in this specification, the following technique is referred to as asub-pixel conversion. That is, with regard to concentration values oftwo pixels adjacent to each other, it calculates the rate at which theintended threshold level value is equivalent to the middle part of thetwo pixel values. Then, based on the rate, a division position betweenthe two pixels is also divided at the same ratio as the rate. Then, aninner side is defined as “1”, and an outer side is defined as “0”. So, aline drawing is determined at a unit of a value less than one pixel.

According to this configuration, the outer circumference of theinspection picture is converted into the sub-pixels. Thus, theinspection picture having the high accuracy can be obtained to therebyimprove the inspection accuracy. Also, the range for the sub-pixelconversion does not contain the entire inspection picture. It containsonly the pixels in circumference of the plurality of pixels forming theouter circumference of the inspection picture. Hence, the sub-pixelconversion can be done at the high speed.

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionmethod according to a second aspect of the present invention is designedso as to take a photograph of an illuminated inspection target samplefrom above to generate an original picture, convert the original pictureobtained by the taking into a binary picture, label the binary pictureobtained by the converting to generate a labeling picture, calculate asummation of shade values of the original picture corresponding to thelabeling picture generated by the labeling and judge a pass or rejectionof the inspection target sample based on the summation of the shadevalues obtained by the calculating.

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionmethod according to a third aspect of the present invention is designedso as to take a photograph of an illuminated inspection target samplefrom above to generate an original picture, convert the original pictureobtained by the taking into a binary picture, label the binary pictureobtained by the converting to generate a labeling picture calculate adistance between every two pixels of a plurality of pixels forming anouter circumference of the labeling picture over all combinations of twopixels of the plurality of pixels, determine a longest distance of aplurality of the distances obtained by the calculating, and judge a passor rejection of the inspection target sample based on the determinedlongest distance.

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionapparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present inventioncomprises a camera (10), a binary conversion unit (121), a labeling unit(122), a circumscribing rectangle forming unit (123), an inspectionpicture generating unit (124) and a judging unit (125).

The camera (10) takes a photograph of an inspection target sampleilluminated with an illuminator (13) from above to output an originalpicture. The binary conversion unit (121) converts the original pictureoutputted from the camera (10) into a binary picture. The labeling unit(122) labels the binary picture outputted from the binary conversionunit (121) to generate a labeling picture. The circumscribing rectangleforming unit (123) forms a circumscribing rectangle circumscribing anouter circumference of the labeling picture generated by the labelingunit (122). The inspection picture generating unit (124) generates aninspection picture based on the labeling picture surrounded by thecircumscribing rectangle formed by the circumscribing rectangle formingunit (123). The judging unit (125) judges a pass or rejection of theinspection target sample based on the inspection picture generated bythe inspection picture generating unit (124).

The inspection picture generating unit comprises an inverting unit(130), a removing unit (131) and an adding unit (132). The invertingunit (130) inverts the labeling picture circumscribed by thecircumscribing rectangle formed by the circumscribing rectangle formingunit (123) to generate a inversion picture. The removing unit (131)removes a picture in a region surrounded by the outer circumference andthe circumscribing rectangle from the inversion picture generated by theinverting unit (130) to generate a removal picture. The adding unit(132) adds the removal picture generated by the removing unit (131) tothe labeling picture to generate the inspection picture.

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionapparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprisesa camera (10), a binary conversion unit (121), a labeling unit (122), ashade value summation calculation unit (140) and a judging unit (125 b).

The camera (10) takes a photograph of an inspection target sampleilluminated with an illuminator (13) from above to output an originalpicture. The binary conversion unit (121) converts the original pictureoutputted from the camera (10) into a binary picture. The labeling unit(122) labels the binary picture outputted from the binary conversionunit (121) to generate a labeling picture. The shade value summationcalculation unit (140) calculates a summation of shade values of theoriginal picture corresponding to the labeling picture generated by thelabeling unit (122). The judging unit (125 b) judges a pass or rejectionof the inspection target sample based on the summation of the shadevalues calculated by the shade value summation calculation unit (140).

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspectionapparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention comprisesa camera (10), a binary conversion unit (121), a labeling unit (122), adistance calculation unit (150) a longest distance calculation unit(151) and a judging unit (125 c).

The camera (10) takes a photograph of an inspection target sampleilluminated with an illuminator (13) from above to output an originalpicture. The binary conversion unit (121) converts the original pictureoutputted from the camera (10) into a binary picture. The labeling unit(122) labels the binary picture outputted from the binary conversionunit (121) to generate a labeling picture. The distance calculation unit(150) calculates a distance between every two pixels of a plurality ofpixels forming an outer circumference of the labeling picture generatedby the labeling unit (122) over all combinations of two pixels of theplurality of pixels. The longest distance calculation unit (151)determines a longest distance of a plurality of the distances calculatedby the distance calculation unit (150). The judging unit (125 c) judgesa pass or rejection of the inspection target sample based on the longestdistance determined by the longest distance calculation unit (151).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a visual inspection apparatusaccording to each embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A to 4E are explanatory diagrams describing the operation of thevisual inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams describing a processed result bythe visual inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention, as compared with a conventional visual inspectionapparatus;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to athird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to afourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to afifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to asixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to aseventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to aneighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are explanatory diagrams describing an operation ofthe visual inspection apparatus according to the eighth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pictureprocessing unit applied to a visual inspection apparatus according to aninth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an operation of the visual inspectionapparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described below indetail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a visual inspection apparatuscommonly used in each of the embodiments according to the presentinvention. This visual inspection apparatus is composed of a camera 10,an A/D converter 11, a picture processing unit 12, a ring illuminator 13and a base 15 on which an integrated circuit 20 having a package of aBGA type (hereafter, merely referred to as “BGA”) is mounted.

The camera 10 takes a photograph of the BGA 20 that is an inspectiontarget sample. This camera 10 is placed so as to be locatedsubstantially directly over the BGA 20. An analog picture signalgenerated by taking the photograph operation of the camera 10 is sent tothe A/D converter 11 for each pixel.

The A/D converter 11 converts the analog picture signal from the camera10 into a digital picture signal for each pixel. Each pixel is composedof, for example, eight bits, and it is designed so as to indicate theshade values of 256 stages. The digital picture signal outputted fromthis A/D converter 11 is sent to the picture processing unit 12. Itshould be noted that the picture formed based on this digital picturesignal is referred to as “original picture” in this specification.

The picture processing unit 12 can be configured by a computer having aprocessor, for example, such as a micro computer and a work station.This picture processing unit 12 treats the inputted digital picturesignal to thereby perform a visual inspection on the BGA 20. The pictureprocessing unit 12 will be described below in detail.

The ring illuminator 13 is composed of, for example, a ring-shapedfluorescent. This ring illuminator 13 is placed so as to be locatedsubstantially directly over the BGA 20, and it emits a light from anobliquely upward direction to the BGA 20 placed on the base 15.

A plurality of bumps 30 functioning as connection terminals are formedon a rear of the BGA 20. Each of the bumps 30 is constituted by, forexample, a hemisphere-shape solder ball.

In the visual inspection apparatus having the above-mentionedconfiguration, a photograph of the rear of the BGA 20 where light isirradiate by the ring illuminator 13, is taken by the camera 10. Thus, apicture in which the plurality of bumps 30 are arrayed is obtained bythe camera 10. In this case, the obtained picture of each of theplurality of the bumps 30 is donut-shaped. The principle by which thedonut-shaped picture is obtained is explained in, for example, JapaneseLaid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 8-203972). Refer to it asnecessary.

The analog picture signal obtained by this camera 10 is converted intothe digital picture signal by the A/D converter 11, and the converteddigital picture signal is sent to the picture processing unit 12. Thepicture processing unit 12 treats the picture in which the plurality ofdonut-shaped bumps are arrayed, and inspects the outer appearances ofthe plurality of the bumps 30, and then judges the pass or rejectionthereof.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Inthis description, the configuration and the operation of the pictureprocessing unit 12 is mainly explained.

First Embodiment

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the pictureprocessing unit 12 applied to a visual inspection apparatus according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

The picture processing unit 12 is composed of a memory 120, a binaryconversion unit 121, a labeling unit 122, a circumscribing rectangleforming unit 123, an inspection picture generating unit 124 and ajudging unit 125.

The memory 120 stores therein the digital picture signal from the A/Dconverter 11 as digital picture data. The digital picture data stored inthis memory 120 composes the original picture. The digital picture datastored in this memory 120 is sent to the binary conversion unit 121. Itshould be noted that the memory 120 is additionally used as temporalbuffers for the binary conversion unit 121, the labeling unit 122, thecircumscribing rectangle forming unit 123, the inspection picturegenerating unit 124 and the judging unit 125.

The binary conversion unit 121 converts the digital picture data storedin the memory 120 into the binary numeral. This binary conversion iscarried out as follows. That is, the binary conversion unit 121investigates whether or not a shade value of each pixel forming thedigital picture data is equal to or greater than a predeterminedthreshold. If the shade value is equal to or greater than the threshold,the pixel is converted into “1”. If the shade value is less than thethreshold, the pixel is converted into “0”. The binary picture data,which is converted into the binary numeral by this binary conversionunit 121, is sent to the labeling unit 122.

The labeling unit 122 extracts a region in which the pixels having thevalue “1.” are continuous in the binary picture data sent from thebinary conversion unit 121. This process is referred to as “labeling”,and each labeled picture is referred to as “labeling picture”. Thelabeling unit 122 sends the labeling picture obtained by the labeling tothe circumscribing rectangle forming unit 123.

The circumscribing rectangle forming unit 123 forms the rectanglecircumscribing an outer circumference of the labeling picture sent bythe labeling unit 122. Hereafter, this rectangle is referred to as“circumscribing rectangle”. An inner portion of the formedcircumscribing rectangle serves as a unit of a picture processing inthis visual inspection apparatus. The circumscribing rectangle datadefining the circumscribing rectangle formed by this circumscribingrectangle forming unit 123 is sent to the inspection picture generatingunit 124.

The inspection picture generating unit 124 inverts the labeling picturein the circumscribing rectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangledata sent from the circumscribing rectangle forming unit 123, andremoves a portion of the region formed by the outer circumference of thelabeling picture and the circumscribing rectangle from the picturegenerated by this inversion, and then adds the picture obtained by thisremoval to the labeling picture, and accordingly generates an inspectionpicture.

This inspection picture generating unit 124 is actually composed of aninverting unit 130, a removing unit 131 and an adding unit 132.

The inverting unit 130 inverts the labeling picture in thecircumscribing rectangle to generate an inversion picture. That is, if apixel which composes the labeling picture is at “0”, the inverting unit130 converts the pixel into “1”, and if the pixel is at “1”, theinverting unit 130 converts the pixel into “0”, respectively. Theinversion picture generated by inverting the labeling picture in theinverting unit 130 is sent to the removing unit 131.

The removing unit 131 removes a portion circumscribing thecircumscribing rectangle from the inversion picture sent from theinverting unit 130. Actually, each pixel in a region formed by the outercircumference of the labeling picture and the circumscribing rectangleat each corner of the circumscribing rectangle is set to “0”. Thepicture after the execution of the removing process in the removing unit131 is sent to the adding unit 132.

The adding unit 132 adds the labeling picture in the circumscribingrectangle labeled by the labeling unit 122 and the picture after theexecution of the removing process in the removing unit 131. Thisaddition generates the inspection picture in which “1” is embedded in ahollow portion of the labeling picture. The inspection picture generatedby the adding unit 132 is sent to the judging unit 125.

The judging unit 125 inspects the inspection picture sent from theadding unit 132 of the inspection picture generating unit 124, andjudges the pass or rejection of the inspection of the BGA 20. Thisinspection in the judging unit 125 is carried out by calculating an areaof the inspection picture and then inspecting whether or not thecalculated result is within a predetermined range. The calculation ofthe area is carried out by counting the number of the pixels having thevalue “1” in the inspection picture. The judged result by the judgingunit 125 is sent to, for example, an external display apparatus (notshown).

The pass or rejection in the judging unit 125 may be done by investingwhether or not a diameter of the inspection picture is within apredetermined range or whether or not a circulation degree of theinspection picture is within a predetermined range. This judgment of thepass or rejection may be also done by investigating whether or not atleast one of the area, the diameter and the circulation degree of theinspection picture is within the predetermined range.

It should be noted that “circulation degree” in this specificationindicates the degree close to the circulation which degree isrepresented by using a ratio of an area calculated based on the numberof dots having a value equal to or greater than a threshold for thebinary conversion in the inspection picture to another area calculatedby following equation (1).

(Maximum Diameter of Shape of Inspection Picture/2)²×CircularConstant  equation (1)

The circulation degree is typically represented by a ratio of a lengthobtained from the number of the dots forming the outer circumference ofthe shape of the inspection picture to another length calculated from“Maximum Diameter of Shape of Inspection Picture×Circular Constant”.However, this typical circulation degree has a defect that if the shapeof the inspection picture is distorted, the degree of the circulationcan not be precisely represented. On the contrary, in the case of thecirculation degree defined in this specification, the degree of thecirculation can be precisely represented even if the shape of theinspection picture is distorted. Moreover, in the picture of the bump 30having a crushed portion, the number of the dots having high brightnessis dropped and thereby the circulation degree is reduced. Thus, this isadvantageous in terms of detecting the bump 30 having the crushedportion.

Also, it is not always necessary that the inspection picture generatingunit 124 is composed of the inverting unit 130, the removing unit 131and the adding unit 132. This inspection picture generating unit 124 canemploy the various configurations by which “1” can be embedded in thehollow portion of the labeling picture. For example, the inspectionpicture generating unit 124 can be configured such that all the pixelsexisted within the outer circumference of the labeling picture areconverted into “1”.

Next, the operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention to which the pictureprocessing unit 12 having the above-mentioned configuration is appliedwill be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3and the explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 4.

At first, the BGA 20 that is the inspection target sample is placed onthe base 15, and the ring illuminator 13 is turned on. Thus, the lightis irradiated from the obliquely upward direction to the BGA 20 placedon the base 15. At this state, the camera 10 is actuated to then take aphotograph of an entire of the BGA 20. The analog picture signalobtained by this photograph operation is converted into the digitalpicture signal by the A/D converter 11, as mentioned above, and thedigital picture signal is stored as the digital picture data in thememory 120 of the picture processing unit 12. At this state, the pictureprocessing unit 12 starts the operation.

In the picture processing unit 12, at first, the binary conversion unit121 reads out the digital picture data from the memory 120 (Step S10),and then converts the read digital picture data into the binary numeral(Step S11). As the result of the binary conversion, the binary picturedata is obtained in which the plurality of donut-shaped picturescorresponding to the plurality of bumps 30 are arrayed. This binarypicture data is sent to the labeling unit 122.

The labeling unit 122 executes a labeling process in which the binarypicture data is labeled (Step S12). Thus, the plurality of labelingpictures corresponding to the plurality of the bumps 30 are obtained.Each of the labeling picture is donut-shaped as shown in FIG. 4A, unlessthe bump is extremely deformed. It should be noted that, in FIG. 4A, aslant portion indicates the pixels having the value “1”, and the otherportion implies the pixels having the value “0”. Hereafter, they aresimilarly indicated.

After the execution of this labeling process, the plurality of thelabeling pictures corresponding to the plurality of the bumps 30 aretreated one by one. That is, the circumscribing rectangle forming unit123 selects one labeling picture from the plurality of labeling picturessent from the labeling unit 122, as shown in FIG. 4B, and then generatesa circumscribing rectangle 40 of the selected labeling picture (StepS13). The circumscribing rectangle data representing this generatedcircumscribing rectangle 40 is sent to the inverting unit 130 of theinspection picture generating unit 124.

The inverting unit 130 inverts the labeling picture existed within acircumscribing rectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangle datafrom the circumscribing rectangle forming unit 123 (Step S14). Thus, aninversion picture shown in FIG. 4C is obtained.

The removing unit 131 removes portions 41 in contact with thecircumscribing rectangle 40 of the inversion picture sent from theinverting unit 130 (Step S15). Thus, a removal picture having adonut-shaped hollow portion is obtained as shown in FIG. 4D.

The adding unit 132 adds the labeling picture obtained by the labelingunit 122 as shown in FIG. 4B and the removal picture having thedonut-shaped hollow portion sent from the removing unit 131 as shown inFIG. 4D (Step S16). Thus, the inspection picture in which all pixelsexisted within the outer circumference of the labeling picture are setto “1” is obtained as shown in FIG. 4E.

Then, the pass or rejection of the bump 30 that is the inspection targetsample is judged (Step S17). More detailed, at this step S17, it isinvestigated whether or not an area of the inspection picture is withinthe predetermined range, and the pass or rejection is judged based onthis investigation result. The judged result by the judging unit 125 issent to, for example, an external display apparatus (not shown) anddisplayed thereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 has completed.

The difference between the visual inspection apparatus according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention having the above-mentionedconfiguration and the conventional visual inspection apparatus will bedescribed.

The shape of the labeling picture is determined depending on theappearance of the bump 30. Here, let us suppose that the labelingpicture shown in FIG. 5A is normal and the labeling pictures shown inFIGS. 5B and 5C are abnormal. In the conventional visual inspectionapparatus for judging the pass or rejection of the inspection based onthe area of the labeling picture, all of the labeling pictures shown inFIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C have the same area, although the shapes of thelabeling pictures are different from each other. As a result, such acase is occurred that the abnormal bump is judged to be normal. Thus,the pass or rejection of the inspection can not be precisely judged.

On the contrary, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention, the inspection picture hasthe shape in which the hollow portion of the labeling picture of thebump 30 is embedded. Thus, even if the pass or rejection of theinspection is judged based on the area, the normal bump and the abnormalbump can be distinguished. Hence, it is possible to improve the accuracyof the visual inspection of the BGA 20.

Second Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pixels forming the outercircumference of the inspection picture are converted into sub-pixels,in the visual inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment. Itshould be noted that, in the following explanation, the symbols ornumerals equal to those of the first embodiment are given to theportions equal to or corresponding to the portions of the firstembodiment, and the different portions are centrally explained.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 a of the visualinspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 6. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that a sub-pixel generating unit 126 is addedto the configuration of the first embodiment. Also, functions of alabeling unit 122 a and a judging unit 125 a are altered from those ofthe labeling unit 122 and the judging unit 125 in the first embodiment,respectively.

The labeling unit 122 a executes the labeling of the binary picture datafrom the binary conversion unit 121 to thereby generate the labelingpicture, and sequentially stores coordinates of pixels forming an outercircumference of the labeling picture into the memory 120. It should benoted that the pixels forming the outer circumference of the labelingpicture are equal to the pixels forming the outer circumference of theinspection picture. Therefore, they are collectively referred to as“outer circumference pixels”.

The sub-pixel generating unit 126 generates the sub-pixels based on thecoordinates of the outer circumference pixels stored in the memory 120by the labeling unit 122 a. The sub-pixels of one pixel can begenerated, for example, by dividing vertical and horizontal componentsof the pixel into respective 10 components to thereby generate 100sub-pixels.

The range of the pixels targeted for the sub-pixel generation can bedefined as the outer circumference pixels and pixels in a predeterminedrange surrounding each of the outer circumference pixels, for example,the outer circumference pixels and 8 pixels surrounding each of theouter circumference pixels. In order to generate the sub-pixels, a knowntechnique, for example, such as a three-dimensional curvecomplementation and the like may be used.

The judging unit 125 a inspects the inspection picture sent from thesun-pixel generating unit 126, and judges the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA 20. The inspection is executed by calculating thearea of the inspection picture and investigating whether or not thecalculation result is within a predetermined range. The calculation ofthe area is executed by counting the total number of the sub-pixels andthe pixels having the value “1” existed in the inspection picture. Thejudged result by the judging unit 125 a is sent to, for example, theexternal display apparatus (not shown).

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 a having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120 and converted into the binary numeral (Steps S10, S11). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.The binary picture data obtained by the binary conversion is sent to thelabeling unit 122 a.

The labeling unit 122 a executes a labeling process to label the binarypicture data (Step S12 a). At this time, the labeling unit 122 asequentially stores the coordinates of the outer circumference pixels ina memory (not shown).

The formation of the circumscribing rectangle (Step S13), the inversion(Step S14), the removal (Step S15) and the addition (Step S16) aresequentially executed similarly to the first embodiment. Thus, theinspection picture shown in FIG. 4E is obtained.

Then, the generation of the sub-pixels is executed (Step S20). That is,the sub-pixel generating unit 126 generates the sub-pixels of the outercircumference pixels and the pixels in the predetermined rangesurrounding them, based on the coordinates of the outer circumferencepixels stored in the memory 120 by the labeling unit 122 a.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 a). That is, at this step S17 a, the pass or rejection isjudged by calculating the area of the inspection picture andinvestigating whether or not the calculation result is within thepredetermined range. The area is calculated by counting the total numberof the pixels having the value “1” and the sub-pixels having the value“1” existed in the inspection picture. The judged result by the judgingunit 125 is sent to, for example, the external display apparatus (notshown) and displayed thereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 has completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention, the pixels forming the outercircumference of the inspection picture are converted into thesub-pixels. Then, area of the inspection picture having the outercircumference converted into the sub-pixels is calculated. Thus, theaccuracy of the area of the inspection picture is improved over thefirst embodiment. Hence, it is possible to further improve theinspection accuracy of the BGA 20.

Also, the range for the conversion into the sub-pixels does not containthe entire inspection picture, but contains only the outercircumference. Thus, it is possible to shorten the time necessary forthe conversion into the sub-pixels. The range for the generation intothe sub-pixels may be also defined as the entire inspection picture.This case provides the merit that the process for converting thesub-pixels can be simplified.

Third Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the judgment of the pass orrejection of the inspection of the BGA is done based on a summation ofshade values of original pictures.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 b of the visualinspection apparatus according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 8. In this visualinspection apparatus, a shade value summation calculation unit 140 isinstalled instead of the inspection picture generating unit 124 of thefirst embodiment. Also, a function of a judging unit 125 b is differentfrom that of the judging unit 125 of the first embodiment.

The shade value summation calculation unit 140 fetches from the memory120 the digital picture data corresponding to the circumscribingrectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangle data from thecircumscribing rectangle forming unit 123. Then, the shade valuesummation calculation unit 140 accumulates the shade values of all thepixels forming the digital picture data and thereby calculates asummation of the shade values. The summation of the shade valuesgenerated by the shade value summation calculation unit 140 is sent tothe judging unit 125 b.

The judging unit 125 b carries out the inspection based on the summationof the shade values sent by the shade value summation calculation unit140, and thereby judges the pass or rejection of the inspection of theBGA 20. The inspection is executed by investigating whether or not thesummation of the shade values is within a predetermined range. Thejudged result by the judging unit 125 b is sent to, for example, theexternal display apparatus (not shown).

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 b having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Then, the summation of the shade values is calculated (Step S140). Thatis, the shade value summation calculation unit 140 fetches from thememory 120 the digital picture data corresponding to the circumscribingrectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangle data from thecircumscribing rectangle forming unit 123. Then, shade value summationcalculation unit 140 accumulates the shade values of all the pixelsforming the fetched digital picture data. Thus, the summation of theshade values of one bump 30 is calculated.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 b). That is, at this step S17 b, it is investigated whether ornot the summation of the shade values obtained at the step S140 iswithin a predetermined range. If the summation is within thepredetermined range, it is judged as the pass. On the other hand, if thesummation is not within the predetermined range, it is judged as therejection. The judged result by the judging unit 125 b is sent to, forexample, the external display apparatus (not shown) and displayedthereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S10). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 has completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thethird embodiment of the present invention, the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA 20 is judged based on the summation of the shadevalue of the original picture. Thus, it is possible to remove thequantized error caused by the binary conversion of the digital picturedata, and also possible to improve the inspection accuracy of the BGA20.

Fourth Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that a summation of shade values isaccumulated after the pixels forming the outer circumference of theinspection picture is converted into the sub-pixels, in the visualinspection apparatus according to the third embodiment. It should benoted that, in the following explanation, the symbols or numerals equalto those of the third embodiment are given to the portions equal to orcorresponding to the portions of the third embodiment, and the differentportions are centrally explained.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 c of the visualinspection apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 10. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that a sub-pixel generating unit 126 is addedto the configuration of the third embodiment. Also, the labeling unit122 a used in the second embodiment is employed instead of the labelingunit 122 in the third embodiment. The function of the shade valuesummation calculation unit 140 a is different from that of the shadevalue summation calculation unit 140 of the third embodiment.

The labeling unit 122 a, when generating the labeling picture bylabeling the binary picture data sent from the binary conversion unit121, sequentially stores the coordinates of the pixels forming an outercircumference of the labeling picture into the memory 120.

The sub-pixel generating unit 126 generates the sub-pixels based on thecoordinates of the outer circumference pixels stored in the memory 120by the labeling unit 122 a. The generation of the sub-pixels can beexecuted similarly to the second embodiment.

The shade value summation calculation unit 140 a fetches from the memory120 the digital picture data corresponding to the circumscribingrectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangle data from thecircumscribing rectangle forming unit 123. Then, shade value summationcalculation unit 140 a accumulates the shade values of all thesub-pixels and the shade values of all the pixels forming the digitalpicture data, respectively to thereby calculate a summation of the shadevalues. The summation of the shade values calculated by the shade valuesummation calculation unit 140 a is sent to the judging unit 125 b.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 c having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Then, the generation of the sub-pixels is executed (Step S20). That is,the sub-pixel generating unit 126 generates the sub-pixels of the outercircumference pixels and the pixels in the predetermined rangesurrounding them, based on the coordinates of the outer circumferencepixels stored in the memory 120 by the labeling unit 122 a.

Then, the summation of the shade values is calculated (Step S140 c).That is, the shade value summation calculation unit 140 a calculates theshade values of the original picture containing the portions convertedinto the sub-pixels, as mentioned above. Thus, the summation of theshade values corresponding to one bump 30 is calculated.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 b). That is, at this step S17 b, it is investigated whether ornot the summation of the shade values obtained at the step S140 c iswithin the predetermined range. If the summation is within thepredetermined range, it is judged as the pass. If the summation is notwithin the predetermined range, it is judged as the rejection. Thejudged result is sent to, for example, the external display apparatus(not shown) and displayed thereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 has completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thefourth embodiment, the outer circumference of the original picture isconverted into the sub-pixels. After that, the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA is judged based on the shade value of the originalpicture converted into the sub-pixels. Thus, the inspection accuracy ofthe BGA 20 can be improved over the visual inspection apparatusaccording to the third embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA is judged based on an average of the shade valuesof the original picture.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 d of the visualinspection apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 12. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that an area calculation unit 141 and anaverage shade value calculation unit 142 are added to the configurationof the third embodiment

The area calculation unit 141 calculates the area of the labelingpicture. This area calculation is executed by counting the number of thepixels having the value “1” in the labeling picture. The area calculatedby the area calculation unit 141 is sent to the average shade valuecalculation unit 142.

The average shade value calculation unit 142 divides the summation ofthe shade values calculated by the shade value summation calculationunit 140 by the area calculated by the area calculation unit 141, andcalculates the average shade value. This average shade value calculatedby the average shade value calculation unit 142 is sent to the judgingunit 125 b.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 d having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Then, the summation of the shade values is calculated (Step S140). Thatis, the shade value summation calculation unit 140 fetches from thememory 120 the digital picture data corresponding to the circumscribingrectangle defined by the circumscribing rectangle data from thecircumscribing rectangle forming unit 123. Then, shade value summationcalculation unit 140 accumulates the shade values of all the pixelsforming the fetched digital picture data. Thus, the summation of theshade values of one bump 30 is calculated.

Then, the area calculation is performed (Step S141). That is, the areacalculation unit 141 calculates the area of the labeling picture byusing the above-mentioned method. Then, the average shade value iscalculated (Step S142). That is, the summation of the shade valuescalculated at the step S140 is divided by the area calculated at thestep S141.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 b). That is, it is investigated whether or not the averageshade value obtained at the step S142 is within a predetermined range.If the average shade value is within the predetermined range, it isjudged as the pass. On the other hand, if the average shade value is notwithin the predetermined range, it is judged as the rejection. Thejudged result by the judging unit 125 b is sent to, for example, theexternal display apparatus (not shown) and displayed thereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 has completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thefifth embodiment of the present invention, the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA 20 is judged based on the average of the shadevalues of the original picture.

Thus, it is possible to remove the quantized error caused by the binaryconversion of the digital picture data, and also possible to improve theinspection accuracy of the BGA 20.

It should be noted that, similarly to the fourth embodiment, this fifthembodiment can be also configured such that the outer circumference ofthe labeling picture is converted into the sub-pixel to then calculatethe summation of the shade values and the area. This configuration canfurther improve the inspection accuracy of the BGA 20.

Sixth Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BEGA is judged based on the summation of the averageshade values of the original picture (hereafter, referred to as “totalaverage shade value”

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 e of the visualinspection apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 14. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that a total average shade value calculationunit 143 is added to the configuration of the fifth embodiment.

The total average shade value calculation unit 143 calculates theaverage shade value of each of all the bumps of the BGA 20. This isdetermined by adding the average shade values of the respective bumpscalculated by the average shade value calculation unit 142, and thendividing the added result by the number of the bumps 30 in the BGA 20.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 e having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 15.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Next, similarly to the fifth embodiment, the summation of the shadevalues is calculated (Step S140), the area is calculated (Step S141) andthe average shade value is calculated (Step S142), sequentially. Then,the total average shade value is calculated (Step S143). Thiscalculation of the total average shade value is executed by adding theaverage shade value calculated at the step S142 to the total averageshade value stored in the memory 120 in a previous calculation, and thenhalving the adding result.

Then, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the pass or rejection of the visual inspection ofthe BGA 20 is judged (Step S17 b).

That is, when the inspections of all the bumps 30 have been completed,the total average shade value with regard to all the bumps is stored inthe memory 120. Thus, the judging unit 125 b investigates whether or notthe total average shade value in the memory 120 is within thepredetermined range. If the value is within the predetermined range, itis judged as the pass, and if the value is not within the predeterminedrange, it is judged as the rejection. The judged result by the judgingunit 125 b is sent to, for example, the external display apparatus (notshown) and displayed thereon. By above processing, the inspection of theone BGA 20 is completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to thesixth embodiment of the present invention, the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA 20 is judged based on the average of the shadevalues of the original picture. Thus, it is possible to remove thequantized error caused by the binary conversion of the digital picturedata, and also possible to improve the inspection accuracy of the BGA20.

It should be noted that the judgment in the judging unit 125 b can bedesigned such that the pass or rejection of the inspection of the BGA 20is judged based on a difference between the average shade valuecalculated by the average shade value calculation unit 142 and the totalaverage shade value calculated by the total average shade valuecalculation unit 143, or a rate of the average shade value calculated bythe average shade value calculation unit 142 to the total average shadevalue calculated by the total average shade value calculation unit 143.

In the sixth embodiment, the total average shade value is determined bycalculating the average shade values of all the bumps 30 and furtheraveraging the calculated average shade values. However, it may bedetermined by calculating the total shade values of all the bumps 30 andthen dividing the calculated total shade values by the areas of all thebumps 30. This configuration does not require the calculation of theaverage shade value of each bump 30. Thus, it is possible to attain thehigher speed of the process.

Also, this sixth embodiment can be configured such that, similarly tothe fourth embodiment, the outer circumference of the labeling pictureis converted into the sub-pixel to then calculate the summation of theshade values and calculate the area. This configuration can furtherimprove the inspection accuracy of the BGA 20.

Seventh Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pass or rejection of BGA isjudged based on a distance between the outer circumference pixels.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 f of the visualinspection apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 16. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that a distance calculation unit 150 and alongest distance calculation unit 151 are installed instead of theinspection picture generating unit 124 in the first embodiment. Also,the function of the judging unit 125 c is altered from that of the firstembodiment.

The distance calculation unit 150 calculates a distance between twoouter circumference pixels, with regard to all combinations of two outercircumference pixels in a plurality of outer circumference pixels. Theplurality of distances calculated by the distance calculation unit 150are sent to the longest distance calculation unit 151.

The longest distance calculation unit 151 determines a longest distancefrom the distances calculated by the distance calculation unit 150, andsends the determined longest distance to the judging unit 125 c.

The judging unit 125 c judges the pass or rejection of the inspection ofthe BGA 20, depending on whether or not the longest distance sent fromthe longest distance calculation unit 151 is within a predeterminedrange. The judged result by the judging unit 125 c is sent to, forexample, the external display apparatus (not shown) and displayedthereon.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to theseventh embodiment of the present invention to which the pictureprocessing unit 12 f having the above-mentioned configuration is appliedwill be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.17.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Next, the distance is calculated (Step S150). That is, the distancecalculation unit 150 calculates the distance between the two outercircumference pixels, with regard to all the combinations of the twopixels in the plurality of outer circumference pixels, as mentionedabove.

Then, the longest distance is calculated (Step S151). That is, thelongest distance calculation unit 151 determines the longest distancefrom the plurality of distances calculated at the step S151.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 c). That is, it is investigated whether or not the longestdistance obtained at the step S151 is within a predetermined range. Ifthe longest distance is within the predetermined range, it is judged asthe pass, and if the longest distance is not within the predeterminedrange, it is judged as the rejection. The judged result is sent to, forexample, the external display apparatus (not shown) and displayedthereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 is completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to theseventh embodiment of the present invention, the pass or rejection ofthe inspection of the BGA is judged based on the distance between theouter circumference pixels. Thus, the abnormality of the outer shape ofthe bump 30, which can not be judged from the area of the picture of thebump, can be removed to thereby improve the inspection accuracy of theBGA 20.

Eighth Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pixels forming the outercircumference of the labeling picture are converted into sub-pixels, inthe visual inspection apparatus according to the seventh embodiment.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 g of the visualinspection apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in a block diagram of FIG. 18. This visual inspectionapparatus is designed such that a sub-pixel generating unit 126, asub-pixel distance calculation unit 152 and a sub-pixel longest distancecalculation unit 153 are added to the configuration of the seventhembodiment. Also, the labeling unit 122 a is identical to that of thesecond embodiment.

The sub-pixel generating unit 126 converts one set of outercircumference pixels having the longest distance (hereafter referred toas “a first pixel and a second pixel”) into sub-pixels, and generates afirst sub-pixel picture and a second sub-pixel picture, respectively.The generation of the sub-pixels is executed similarly to that of thesecond embodiment.

The sub-pixel distance calculation unit 152 calculates the distancebetween the two sub-pixels, with regard to all combinations of theplurality of sub-pixels forming the outer circumference of the firstsub-pixel picture and the plurality of sub-pixels forming the outercircumference of the second sub-pixel picture. The plurality ofdistances calculated by the sub-pixel distance calculation unit 152 aresent to the sub-pixel longest distance calculation unit 153.

The sub-pixel longest distance calculation unit 153 determines a longestdistance from the distances calculated by the sub-pixel distancecalculation unit 152 and sends it to the judging unit 125 b.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the eighthembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 g having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 19 and theexplanatory diagram shown in FIG. 20.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Similarly to the seventh embodiment, the distance is calculated (StepS150), and the longest distance is calculated (Step S151). Thus, thefirst pixels and the second pixels forming the longest distance aredetermined as shown in FIG. 20A.

Then, the generation of the sub-pixel is executed (Step S20). Thegeneration of the sub-pixel is performed on the circumferences of thefirst pixels and the second pixels forming the longest distancecalculated at the step S151 as shown in FIG. 20B.

Then, the distance between the sub-pixels is calculated (Step S152).That is, the sub-pixel distance calculation unit 152 calculates thedistance between the two sub-pixels, with regard to all the combinationsof the plurality of sub-pixels forming the outer circumference of thefirst sub-pixel picture and the plurality of sub-pixels forming theouter circumference of the second sub-pixel picture.

Thereafter, the longest distance between the sub-pixels is calculated(Step S153). That is, the sub-pixel longest distance calculation unit153 determines the longest distance from the distances calculated by thesub-pixel distance calculation unit 152.

Then, the pass or rejection of the bump 30 is judged (Step S17 b). Thatis, it is investigated whether or not the longest distance between thesub-pixels obtained at the step S153 is within a predetermined range. Ifthe longest distance is within the predetermined range, it is judged asthe pass, and if the longest distance is not within the predeterminedrange, it is judged as the rejection. The judged result by the judgingunit 125 c is sent to, for example, the exterior display apparatus (notshown) and displayed thereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 is completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to theeighth embodiment of the present invention, the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA is judged based on the distance between thesub-pixels forming the outer circumference of the labeling picture.Thus, the accuracy of the distance is improved over the seventhembodiment. As a result, the abnormality of the outer shape of the bumpcan be detected at a high accuracy, which can improve the inspectionaccuracy of the BGA 20.

Also, only the circumferences of the two pixels forming the longestdistance are converted into the sub-pixels. Thus, it is possible toshorten the time necessary for the conversion into the sub-pixels. Itshould be noted that the range for the conversion into the sub-pixels isnot limited to the circumferences of the first and second pixels. Theconversion into the sub-pixels can be performed as the entire inspectionpicture. In this case, the process for the conversion into thesub-pixels is simplified.

This visual inspection apparatus according to the eighth embodiment canbe varied as follows. That is, the longest distance calculation unit 151calculates not only the longest distance but also distances between aplurality of sets of pixels which distances are included in apredetermined range from the longest distance. The sub-pixel generatingunit 126 converts the pixels existed in the circumferences of the twopixels forming the distance into the sub-pixels, with regard to all thecombinations.

The sub-pixel distance calculation unit 152 performs the process forcalculating the distance between the two sub-pixels, on each of theplurality of sets of the two sub-pixels, with regard to all thecombinations of one sub-pixel among the plurality of sub-pixels formingthe outer circumference of the labeling picture, in the sub-pixelpicture of one pixel generated by the sub-pixel generating unit 126, andone sub-pixel among the plurality of sub-pixels forming the outercircumference of the labeling picture in the other sub-pixel picture.

Then, the sub-pixel longest distance calculation unit 153 determines thelongest distance of the plurality of distances calculated by thesub-pixel longest distance calculation unit 153, and sends it to thejudging unit 125 b.

This configuration can avoid the occurrence of a situation that theactual distance is not longest even if the distance between the pixelsis the longest. Thus, it is possible to determine the true longestdistance of the bump 30 in the labeling picture.

Ninth Embodiment

A visual inspection apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of thepresent invention is designed such that the pass or rejection of theinspection of the BGA is judged based on a distance from ae center or acenter of gravity in the labeling picture to the outer circumferencepixel.

The configuration of a picture processing unit 12 h of the visualinspection apparatus according to the ninth embodiment is shown in ablock diagram of FIG. 21. This visual inspection apparatus is designedsuch that a center of gravity calculating unit 160 and a longestdistance calculation unit 161 are installed instead of the inspectionpicture generating unit 124 in the first embodiment. The labeling unit122 a is identical to that of the second embodiment. Also, the judgingunit 125 c is identical to that of the seventh embodiment.

The center of gravity calculating unit 160 calculates the center ofgravity in the labeling picture. The center of gravity may be calculatedby using known various methods.

The longest distance calculation unit 161 determines a position of anouter circumference pixel located at the farthest position from thecenter of gravity, calculates an outer circumference pixel located atthe farthest position from the determined position, and sends thedetermined longest distance to the judging unit 125 c.

The operation of the visual inspection apparatus according to the ninthembodiment of the present invention to which the picture processing unit12 h having the above-mentioned configuration is applied will bedescribed below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 22.

At first, a photograph of the BGA 20 that is the inspection targetsample is taken, and the obtained digital picture data is stored in thememory 120. Then, the digital picture data is read out from the memory120, and converted into the binary numeral, and labeled. After that, thecircumscribing rectangle is formed (Steps S10 to S13). Theabove-mentioned operations are equal to those of the first embodiment.

Next, the center of gravity is calculated (Step S160). That is, thecenter of gravity calculating unit 160 calculates the center of gravity,in the labeling picture, as mentioned above.

The longest distance is calculated (Step S161). That is, the longestdistance calculation unit 161 determines the position of the outercircumference pixel located at the farthest position from the center ofgravity, and calculates the pixel forming the outer circumferencelocated at the farthest position from the determined position.

Then, the pass or rejection of the inspection of the bump 30 is judged(Step S17 b). That is, it is investigated whether or not the longestdistance obtained at the step S151 is within a predetermined range. Ifthe longest distance is within the predetermined range, it is judged asthe pass, and if the longest distance is not within the predeterminedrange, it is judged as the rejection. The judged result is sent to, forexample, the external display apparatus (not shown) and displayedthereon.

Next, it is investigated whether or not the inspections of all the bumps30 have been completed (Step S18). If it is judged that the inspectionshave not been completed, the operational flow returns back to the stepS13, and the above-mentioned processes are carried out, repeatedly. Ifit is judged at the step S18 that the inspections of all the bumps 30have been completed, the visual inspection of one BGA 20 is completed.

As mentioned above, in the visual inspection apparatus according to theninth embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary tocalculate the distance between the two pixels, with regard to all thecombinations of the two pixels among the plurality of pixels forming theouter circumference of the labeling picture, as described in the seventhembodiment. Thus, it is possible to attain the high speed processing. Inthis case, it is impossible to determine the true longest distance suchas the seventh embodiment. However, this can sufficiently endure theactual usage condition because the set of the pixels close to thelongest distance can be determined.

Also, the center of gravity calculating unit 160 can be replaced by acenter calculator for calculating the center of the labeling picture.This center can be calculated by using known various methods. Even thisconfiguration can provide the effects substantially similar to those ofthe above-mentioned configurations.

It should be noted that a new visual inspection apparatus can beconfigured by the arbitrary combination of the functions of the visualinspection apparatus of the group composed of the first and secondembodiments, the functions of the visual inspection apparatus of thegroup composed of the third to sixth embodiments, and the functions ofthe visual inspection apparatus of the group composed of the seventh toninth embodiments. According to this configuration, it is possible todesign the visual inspection apparatus having the higher inspectionaccuracy including the features of the visual inspection apparatuses ofthe respective groups.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible toprovide the visual inspection method and the visual inspection apparatusthat can carry out the visual inspection at the high accuracyirrespectively of the low cost.

1. A visual inspection method comprising: taking a photograph of anilluminated inspection target sample from above to generate an originalpicture; converting via a computer processor said original pictureobtained by said taking into a binary picture; labeling said binarypicture obtained by said converting to generate a labeling picture;calculating a distance between every two pixels of a plurality of pixelsforming an outer circumference of said labeling picture over allcombinations of two pixels of said plurality of pixels; determining alongest distance of a plurality of said distances obtained by saidcalculating; and judging a pass or rejection of said inspection targetsample based on said determined longest distance.
 2. The visualinspection method according to claim 1, wherein said determining stepcomprising: generating a first sub-pixel picture by converting pixelsaround one of two pixels forming said longest distance into sub-pixelsand generating a second sub-pixel picture by converting pixels aroundanother one of the two pixels forming said longest distance intosub-pixels; calculating a sub-pixel distance between every sub-pixels ofa plurality of sub-pixels forming an outer circumference of saidlabeling picture formed by said first sub-pixel picture and everysub-pixels of a plurality of sub-pixels forming an outer circumferenceof said labeling picture formed by said second sub-pixel picture overallcombinations of a plurality of sub-pixels forming said outercircumference of said labeling picture formed by said first sub-pixelpicture and a plurality of sub-pixels forming said outer circumferenceof said labeling picture formed by said second sub-pixel picture; anddetermining a longest distance of a plurality of said calculatedsub-pixel distances, wherein said judging of said pass or rejection ofsaid inspection target sample is performed based on said determinedlongest distance of said plurality of said sub-pixel distances.
 3. Thevisual inspection method according to claim 2, wherein said generatingstep further comprising generating a sub-pixel picture by convertingpixels around one of two pixels forming a distance in a predeterminedrange from said longest distance into sub-pixels to add to said firstsub-pixel; and generating a sub-pixel picture by converting pixelsaround another one of said two pixels forming the distance in apredetermined range from said longest distance into sub-pixels to add tosaid second sub-pixel.
 4. The visual inspection method according toclaim 1, further comprising: generating a center or a center of gravityof said labeling picture, wherein said calculating is performed bycalculating a distance between a pixel forming an outer circumference ofsaid labeling picture and being located at a farthest distance from saidcenter or said center of gravity calculated and another pixel formingsaid outer circumference of said labeling picture over all combinationsof said one pixel and said other pixel of said plurality of pixelsforming said outer circumference of said labeling picture.
 5. The visualinspection method according to claim 1, further comprising: convertingpixels forming said labeling picture into sub-pixels, wherein saidcalculating is performed by calculating a distance between every twosub-pixels of a plurality of sub-pixels forming an outer circumferenceof said labeling picture converted into said sub-pixels over allcombinations of two sub-pixels of said plurality of sub-pixels.
 6. Avisual inspection apparatus comprising: a camera which takes aphotograph of an inspection target sample illuminated with anilluminator from above to output an original picture; a binaryconversion unit which converts said original picture outputted from saidcamera into a binary picture; a labeling unit which labels said binarypicture outputted from said binary conversion unit to generate alabeling picture; a distance calculation unit which calculates adistance between every two pixels of a plurality of pixels forming anouter circumference of said labeling picture generated by said labelingunit over all combinations of two pixels of said plurality of pixels; alongest distance calculation unit which determines a longest distance ofa plurality of said distances calculated by said distance calculationunit; and a judging unit which judges a pass or rejection of saidinspection target sample based on said longest distance determined bysaid longest distance calculation unit.
 7. The visual inspectionapparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a sub-pixelgenerating unit which generates a first sub-pixel picture by convertingpixels around one of two pixels forming said longest distance intosub-pixels and generates a second sub-pixel picture by converting pixelsaround another one of the two pixels forming said longest distance intosub-pixels; a sub-pixel distance calculation unit which calculates adistance between every sub-pixels of a plurality of sub-pixels formingan outer circumference of said labeling picture formed by said firstsub-pixel picture generated by said sub-pixel generating unit and everysub-pixels of a plurality of sub-pixels forming an outer circumferenceof said labeling picture formed by said second sub-pixel picturegenerated by said sub-pixel generating unit overall combinations of aplurality of sub-pixels forming said outer circumference of saidlabeling picture formed by said first sub-pixel picture and a pluralityof sub-pixels forming said outer circumference of said labeling pictureformed by said second sub-pixel picture; and a sub-pixel longestdistance calculation unit which determines a longest distance of aplurality of said distances calculated by said sub-pixel distancecalculation unit, wherein said judging unit judges said pass orrejection of said inspection target sample based on said longestdistance determined by said sub-pixel longest distance calculation unit.8. The visual inspection apparatus according to claim 7, wherein saidsub-pixel generating unit further converts pixels around one of twopixels forming a distance in a predetermined range from said longestdistance into sub-pixels to add to said first sub-pixel picture andconverts pixels around another one of said two pixels forming thedistance in a predetermined range from said longest distance intosub-pixels to add to said second sub-pixel picture.
 9. The visualinspection apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a centercalculation unit which calculates a center or a center of gravity ofsaid labeling picture, wherein said distance calculation unit calculatesa distance between a pixel forming an outer circumference of saidlabeling picture and being located at a farthest distance from saidcenter or said center of gravity calculated by said center calculationunit and another pixel forming said outer circumference of said labelingpicture over all combinations of said one pixel and said other pixel ofsaid plurality of pixels forming said outer circumference of saidlabeling picture.
 10. The visual inspection apparatus according to claim6, further comprising: a sub-pixel conversion unit which converts pixelsforming said labeling picture into sub-pixel, wherein said distancecalculation unit calculates a distance between every two sub-pixels of aplurality of sub-pixels forming an outer circumference of said labelingpicture converted into said sub-pixels by said sub-pixel conversion unitover all combinations of two sub-pixels of said plurality of sub-pixels.